Utilization of Acupuncture Services in the Emergency Department Setting: A Quality Improvement Study
Purpose: Patients often present to the emergency department (ED) for pain. As opioid fatalities rise, alternative treatments are warranted for pain management. Acupuncture, a nonpharmacological treatment involving the insertion of needles into skin or tissue at specific points within the body, may h...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Advocate Aurora Health
2019-04-01
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| Series: | Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://digitalrepository.aurorahealthcare.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1688&context=jpcrr |
| _version_ | 1828044762703200256 |
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| author | John R. Burns Jessica J. F. Kram Vashir Xiong Jeanne M. Stark Casadont Tiffany A. Mullen Nancy Conway Dennis J. Baumgardner |
| author_facet | John R. Burns Jessica J. F. Kram Vashir Xiong Jeanne M. Stark Casadont Tiffany A. Mullen Nancy Conway Dennis J. Baumgardner |
| author_sort | John R. Burns |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Purpose: Patients often present to the emergency department (ED) for pain. As opioid fatalities rise, alternative treatments are warranted for pain management. Acupuncture, a nonpharmacological treatment involving the insertion of needles into skin or tissue at specific points within the body, may help to decrease acute pain. Our study aimed to assess the utilization and impact of acupuncture in the ED for acute pain management. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of purposefully collected quality improvement data. Patients who were ≥18 years old and who presented to the ED at an urban medical center in Wisconsin during 2017 were offered acupuncture services based on their emergency severity index (ESI; range: highest severity [1] – lowest severity [5]), reason for visit, and physician approval. Paired t-tests were used to examine mean differences between pre- and post-acupuncture pain, stress, anxiety, and nausea scores (range: none [0] – worst [10]). Multivariable regression models also were constructed. Results: A total of 379 patients received acupuncture. Patients presented predominately with an ESI score of 3 (68.9%) or 4 (24.8%); 46.4% received opioids in the ED. Mean pre- and post-acupuncture pain scores significantly differed (6.5 vs 3.4; P < 0.001); receiving opioids during the ED visit was not associated with improved pain scores (P = 0.948). Stress (5.7 vs 1.9), anxiety (4.8 vs 1.6), and nausea (1.6 vs 0.6) scores also improved (P < 0.001) following acupuncture. Conclusions: Emergency department acupuncture significantly decreased pain, stress, anxiety, and nausea. Our findings support a larger randomized controlled trial to further assesses the impact of acupuncture for acute pain in other ED settings. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T18:00:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-369c2ad5870c448ca51c5ea186d6609b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2330-0698 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T18:00:20Z |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
| publisher | Advocate Aurora Health |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews |
| spelling | doaj.art-369c2ad5870c448ca51c5ea186d6609b2023-02-02T15:40:21ZengAdvocate Aurora HealthJournal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews2330-06982019-04-016217217810.17294/2330-0698.1688Utilization of Acupuncture Services in the Emergency Department Setting: A Quality Improvement StudyJohn R. Burns0Jessica J. F. Kram1Vashir Xiong2Jeanne M. Stark Casadont3Tiffany A. Mullen4Nancy Conway5Dennis J. Baumgardner6Aurora Health Care, Milwaukee, WICenter for Urban Population Health/Aurora Health Care, Milwaukee, WIAurora Health Care, Milwaukee, WIAurora Health Care, Milwaukee, WIAurora Health Care, Milwaukee, WIAurora Health Care, Milwaukee, WIAurora Health Care, Milwaukee, WI; University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WIPurpose: Patients often present to the emergency department (ED) for pain. As opioid fatalities rise, alternative treatments are warranted for pain management. Acupuncture, a nonpharmacological treatment involving the insertion of needles into skin or tissue at specific points within the body, may help to decrease acute pain. Our study aimed to assess the utilization and impact of acupuncture in the ED for acute pain management. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of purposefully collected quality improvement data. Patients who were ≥18 years old and who presented to the ED at an urban medical center in Wisconsin during 2017 were offered acupuncture services based on their emergency severity index (ESI; range: highest severity [1] – lowest severity [5]), reason for visit, and physician approval. Paired t-tests were used to examine mean differences between pre- and post-acupuncture pain, stress, anxiety, and nausea scores (range: none [0] – worst [10]). Multivariable regression models also were constructed. Results: A total of 379 patients received acupuncture. Patients presented predominately with an ESI score of 3 (68.9%) or 4 (24.8%); 46.4% received opioids in the ED. Mean pre- and post-acupuncture pain scores significantly differed (6.5 vs 3.4; P < 0.001); receiving opioids during the ED visit was not associated with improved pain scores (P = 0.948). Stress (5.7 vs 1.9), anxiety (4.8 vs 1.6), and nausea (1.6 vs 0.6) scores also improved (P < 0.001) following acupuncture. Conclusions: Emergency department acupuncture significantly decreased pain, stress, anxiety, and nausea. Our findings support a larger randomized controlled trial to further assesses the impact of acupuncture for acute pain in other ED settings.https://digitalrepository.aurorahealthcare.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1688&context=jpcrracupunctureacute painemergency departmentnonpharmacological treatmentquality improvement |
| spellingShingle | John R. Burns Jessica J. F. Kram Vashir Xiong Jeanne M. Stark Casadont Tiffany A. Mullen Nancy Conway Dennis J. Baumgardner Utilization of Acupuncture Services in the Emergency Department Setting: A Quality Improvement Study Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews acupuncture acute pain emergency department nonpharmacological treatment quality improvement |
| title | Utilization of Acupuncture Services in the Emergency Department Setting: A Quality Improvement Study |
| title_full | Utilization of Acupuncture Services in the Emergency Department Setting: A Quality Improvement Study |
| title_fullStr | Utilization of Acupuncture Services in the Emergency Department Setting: A Quality Improvement Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Utilization of Acupuncture Services in the Emergency Department Setting: A Quality Improvement Study |
| title_short | Utilization of Acupuncture Services in the Emergency Department Setting: A Quality Improvement Study |
| title_sort | utilization of acupuncture services in the emergency department setting a quality improvement study |
| topic | acupuncture acute pain emergency department nonpharmacological treatment quality improvement |
| url | https://digitalrepository.aurorahealthcare.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1688&context=jpcrr |
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